WASHINGTON – Buying someone a drink in a bar usually requires being in the same room – Starbucks now lets you buy a coffee drink for a friend with a tweet on Twitter.
Starbucks has launched a new program called Tweet-a-coffee, that facilitates sending a $5 eGift to Twitter users in the U.S.
The recipient is notified on Twitter that someone “just tweeted you a coffee,” and includes a link that can be redeemed at Starbucks, by scanning the eGift card.
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To get started, a user needs to sync a Starbucks account to a Twitter account and a credit card.
Once the payment source is established, to purchase and send the gift, a tweet must include “@tweetacoffee” and the Twitter handle of the person who will receive the gift.
To sweeten the offer, Starbucks says the first 100,000 customers to tweet a coffee through Nov. 6 using a Visa card will get a $5 Starbucks card.
A word of advice — realize that the gift-giving is documented for the world to see, on the @Tweetacoffee account.
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